Our Missouri Podcast

Welcome to Our Missouri, a podcast about the people, places, culture, and history of the 114 counties and independent city of St. Louis that comprise the great state of Missouri. Your host is SHSMO oral historian and lifelong Jefferson City resident Sean Rost, who earned his PhD from the University of Missouri specializing in twentieth-century US, Missouri, and African American history.

Engaging with subject matter experts, each episode focuses on a topic related to the state's complex history and culture, from publications about Missouri’s history to current projects undertaken by organizations to preserve and promote local institutions.  Join Rost as he explores what makes Our Missouri.

Our Missouri is free and generously provided thanks to the support of State Historical Society of Missouri members and donors. Books featured on the show are available for purchase through the SHSMO Richard Bookstore; purchases support the State Historical Society of Missouri.

New episodes are posted twice a month. You can also subscribe via Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.

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Region
Topics
Season

Summer Series 2025: Louis Houck - Joel P. Rhodes (All Aboard, Part 2)

Continuing the 2025 Summer Series, we return to an earlier episode featuring Joel P. Rhodes, newly named executive director of the State Historical Society of Missouri, discussing his book, A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck.


Episode Image: Academic Hall, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, ca. 1908. [Missouri Postcard Collection (P0032), SHSMO]


Banner Image: Houck Depot, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, date unknown. [John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection (R1551), SHSMO]
 

Summer Series 2025: The Durham Museum - Kyle Chattleton (All Aboard, Part 1))

Welcome to our 2025 Summer Series which is all about the history of railroads in Missouri. You know the names, the Hannibal and St. Joseph, Northern Missouri, St. Louis and Iron Mountain, Missouri and North Arkansas, Wabash, KATY, Frisco, Rock Island, Missouri Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Houck Line, BNSF, AMTRAK, and many others. From the depot, to the roundhouse, to the shops, and to the tracks, this series takes us all across Missouri and neighboring states to learn about the bygone era when train travel provided the main source of transportation for many Missourians.

Episode 113: The Volunteer State - Jennifer C. Core (State History, Part 7)

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. 

Next up in the State History series, Jennifer C. Core, executive director of the Tennessee Historical Society, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Volunteer State.

Episode 112: The Bluegrass State - Scott Alvey (State History, Part 6)

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. 

Next up in the State History series, Scott Alvey, executive director of the Kentucky Historical Society, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Bluegrass State.

Episode 111: The Land of Lincoln - William Furry (State History, Part 5)

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. 

Next up in the State History series, William Furry, executive director of the Illinois State Historical Society, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Land of Lincoln.

Episode 110: The Hawkeye State - Kelsey Berryhill (State History, Part 4)

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. 

Next up in the State History series, Kelsey Berryhill, State Government Records Archivist at the State Archives of Iowa, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Hawkeye State.

Episode 109: The Natural State - Patrick G. Williams (State History, Part 3)

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. 

Next up in the State History series, Patrick G. Williams, Secretary-Treasurer of the Arkansas Historical Association, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Natural State.

Episode 108: The Sooner State - Trait Thompson (State History, Part 2)

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. 

Continuing the State History series, Trait Thompson, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Sooner State.

Episode 107: The Sunflower State - Sarah Bell (State History, Part 1)

Did you know that Missouri is tied for 1st place (alongside Tennessee) as the state that borders the most states in the United States? For the second half of Season 7, Our Missouri heads out to the state line to talk with our neighbors about their history, culture, and historical organizations. 

To open the State History series, Sarah Bell, Director of the Kansas Museum of History, joins host Sean Rost to discuss the Sunflower State.

 

Episode 106: Interstate '85 - Marshall Garvey (Covering the Bases, Part 7)

To conclude the Covering the Bases series, host Sean Rost talks with Marshall Garvey about his new book, “Interstate ’85: The Royals, the Cardinals, and the Show-Me World Series.”

 

Episode Image: U. S. Senators John C. Danforth and Thomas Eagleton at a World Series celebration event, 1985 [John C. Danforth Papers (C4532), SHSMO]

Banner Image: U. S. Senators John C. Danforth and Thomas Eagleton at a World Series celebration event, 1985 [John C. Danforth Papers (C4532), SHSMO]

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